Fieldwork Opportunities

Please note:
1.) Other than field schools given through the Harvard Summer School, by listing a field school here we do not necessarily recommend it.
2.) For Harvard students, we cannot guarantee that Harvard/Anthropology will approve academic/concentration credit for a field school. For that to happen, petitions must be submitted to OCS/OIP.
3.) We recommend that Harvard undergraduate students contact the Head Tutor for Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology or another Harvard program adviser for assistance in evaluating a field school before deciding to enroll.

This page was last updated March 2012.


Field School Lists

Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology with nearly 250,000 members and subscribers belonging to more than 100 local AIA societies in the United States, Canada, and overseas, united by a shared passion for archaeology and its role in furthering human knowledge.

Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin
AFOB online continues to be one of the foremost fieldwork resources. There are over 250 listings for archaeological projects around the world. Each AFOB listing features a project profile window with icons to provide information on the size of the project, age requirements, and academic credit availability. The listings continue to provide in-depth descriptions of the projects and accommodations, as well as bibliographies and other detailed information.

Archaeological Field Schools through UCLA
The Archaeology Field Program allows students to choose from a range of locations and projects where they can put archaeological methods and theory into practice. Participants will come to a better understanding of the discipline and of the world through immersion in archaeological practice and local culture. Covering a wide swath of ancient time periods, the field schools are directed by leading scholars and each offers 12 units of UCLA credit. Locations include Armenia, Belize, Botswana, California, Egypt, England, Italy, Ireland, Peru, Mexico, and others.
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ASU fieldschool opportunities: domestic & abraod
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ArchNet (ASU) List of Field Schools

Shovelbums.org
Has a list of current field schools and other field opportunities.
Shovelbums.org


Harvard Projects

Summer Field School in Archaeology and Paleoecology at the Harvard Forest
Archaeology, Ecology, Sustainability, and Cultural Landscapes
This six-week field school is open to all students (graduate and undergraduate) and may be of special interest to those who study anthropology, history, environmental science, or forestry. The field school will include intensive training in New England Native American history, post-European contact archaeology, archaeological survey techniques, excavation, laboratory methods, artifact analysis, and archaeological interpretation, and will be informed by paleoecological and environmental history studies conducted by Harvard researchers. Students will learn how archaeology can help answer questions concerning ancient and historic period land use and forest ecology.
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Harvard Summer School at Copan (Honduras)
Dubbed by early scholars as “the Athens of the New World” for its evocative stone sculptures, Copán serves as an ideal study site for students interested in archaeology, epigraphy, museums, and Latin American studies. In the five-week program, students learn about ongoing archaeological investigations through on-site training.
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Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon (Israel)
Dig at the ancient seaport city of Ashkelon, capital of Canaanite kings, harbor of the Philistines, and stomping ground of the biblical hero, Samson. Earn college credit while digging in a beautiful national park and favorite Israeli resort area overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, within easy walking distance of modern Ashkelon, Israel. Join our excavation team of professional staff and volunteers as we reveal the glorious, sometimes tragic, past of Canaanite, Philistine, and Phoenician Ashkelon.
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Map of Harvard Archaeological Research
Harvard faculty, researchers, and students are working in dozens of countries worldwide, and many would love your help!
Map of Harvard Archaeological Research

Anthropology and Archaeology courses at the Harvard Summer School
Investigate Archaeology and Social Anthropology during summer 2009: Language and Culture; the Archaeology of Harvard Yard; Introduction to Social Anthropology; Introduction to Archaeology; Museum Anthropology; the Language and Culture of Middle Earth; and much more (including summer field schools around the world).
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The Dig in Harvard Yard
Archaeological data recovered from Harvard Yard provide a richer and more nuanced view of the seventeenth- through nineteenth-century lives of students and faculty living in Harvard Yard, an area that includes the Old College and Harvard Indian College. Students excavate near Matthews Hall in Harvard Yard and process and analyze artifacts and report on the results. Additional topics to be covered include regional historical archaeology, research design, surveying, archival research, stratigraphy, and artifact analysis.
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Harvard Summer Program in Montevideo, Uruguay
As the second smallest country in South America, Uruguay is home to 3.46 million people, of whom 1.7 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. In 1877, inspired by Horace Mann, the government established a nationwide educational system—pioneering universal, free, and compulsory primary education in the Americas—and as a consequence Uruguay became one of the most literate nations of Latin America.
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Harvard Summer Program in San José de Moro, Peru Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru
Archaeological methods and techniques, and the exploration of Andean prehistory; Faculty: Luis Jaime Castillo Butters and Jeffrey Quilter (8 credits: UN, GR) Limited enrollment. San José de Moro is a small village on the banks of the Chaman River in La Libertad, a department on the northern coast of Peru. It lies on the nucleus of one of the most important cemeteries and ceremonial centers of the Mochica culture and subsequent cultures. In 1991, a group of archaeologists began to excavate at San José de Moro. The excavations and related studies at this site have helped scholars understand traditions, beliefs, artwork, and organizational and governmental forms of ancient societies of the area. Tombs, objects, and architectural evidence of these cultures are still buried at the site. An outstanding discovery of the San José de Moro Archaeological Project (SJMAP) was the burial site of the most important women in the Andean region, the tombs of Mochica priestesses.
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Field Schools in the US

Underwater Archaeology Field School: Lake Champlain
A field school experience is a critical component for any student pursuing a career path in nautical archeology. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is hosting a rigorous two-week program that offers a mix of both academic instruction and hands-on underwater archaeological research. The diving sessions will teach practical underwater skills using both traditional documentation techniques and cutting-edge technology, while the classroom component will provide students with an opportunity to train in GIS, study CRM practices, and learn about local history and artifact conservation methods.
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The University of Notre Dame and National Science Foundation
The University of Notre Dame and National Science Foundation will once again host a summer research experience for undergraduates. This is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in an experiential learning environment that immerses them in anthropological method and theory.
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The Center for American Archeology
February 24, 25, and 26, 2012 -- The Art and Science of Flintknapping
March 23, 24, and 25, 2012 -- Dillard Flintknapping Workshop
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The University of Virginia: Jamestown
The University of Virginia is proud to sponsor summer archaeological field schools at three of Virginia’s premier historic sites: the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Thomas Jefferson’s primary home at Monticello, and Jefferson’s personal retreat and plantation at Poplar Forest. These field schools offer a unique opportunity for students to make a contribution to the research and interpretation of early American history. Students receive graduate credits (Anthropology 5589) from the University of Virginia.
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National Park Service’s 2012 Archaeological Prospection Workshop
The National Park Service’s 2012 workshop on archaeological prospection techniques: "Current Archaeological Prospection Advances for Non-Destructive Investigations in the 21st Century" will be held May 7-11, 2012, at the Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala, Nebraska. Lodging will be at the Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala, Nebraska.  The field exercises will take place at the site of Alkali Station near Paxton, Nebraska.  Alkali Station was a major trail facility used by travelers on the Oregon and California trails, the Pony Express, the transcontinental telegraph, and the frontier army. The workshop will present lectures on the theory of operation, methodology, processing, and interpretation with on-hands use of the equipment in the field.
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Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA
http://www.anthro.umass.edu/field10

New Philadelphia Field School in Archaeology and Laboratory Techniques
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates ProgramThe New Philadelphia story is both compelling and unique. Many studies in historical archaeology that concentrate on African-American issues have focused on plantation life and the pre-emancipation era. The history of New Philadelphia is very different. It is a chronicle of racial uplift and centering on the success of an African-American family and their ability to survive and prosper in a racist society. In 1836, Frank McWorter, an African American who was born into slavery and later purchased his own freedom, acquired 42 acres of land in the sparsely populated area of Pike County, Illinois, situated in the rolling hills bounded by the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. He founded and platted a town, subdivided the property, and sold lots. McWorter used the revenues from his entrepreneurial efforts to purchase the freedom of sixteen family members, with a total expenditure of $14,000 -- a remarkable achievement.
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Arizona State Univeristy Kampsville Field School
Directed by Jane E. Buikstra, the Arizona State University Field School in Kampsville, Illinois, emphasizes both empirical and theoretical training in archaeological research design and implementation. The field school offers students the opportunity to participate in ongoing professional research. Students receive individual instruction and work side-by-side with professional archaeologists. Through this "hands-on" method, students are inspired to learn more than the routines of field and laboratory methods of archaeological recovery and analysis. We challenge students to develop the conceptual abilities that underlie successful archaeological projects and to develop an appreciation for the range of issues addressed through archaeological investigation. Experiences at archaeological sites and research laboratories are supplemented by classroom study and lectures. More Information

Jamestown Virginia Field School
The fieldwork will be conducted at the Jamestown Rediscovery excavations on Jamestown Island, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. Focus of the excavations will be on uncovering the recently discovered remains of the 1607 James Fort and the adjoining 1608 James Town. In the course of excavations, students will learn to identify and interpret 17th-century European and Native American artifacts, as well as investigate features directly related to James Fort (1607-1625). This archaeological field school provides a unique opportunity for students to make a contribution to the research and interpretation of early 17th-century English-America.
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Mountain View Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest
In the summer of 2010, field school participants will excavate an early nineteenth-century building complex, believed to be associated with plantation work spaces and possibly slave quarters, adjacent to Jefferson's ornamental grounds. They will also participate in some of the first phases of excavation needed to restore the ornamental plantings that once surrounded the retreat house. Students will spend 40 hours a week at Poplar Forest, with most of the time split between the excavation site and the archaeology laboratory. Strenuous daily activity will require physical endurance and good health. Participants will have the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art equipment and software, including a total station for recording field information, GPS receivers for collecting spatial data over large areas, a database system containing both the archaeological artifact and context records, and a complete inventory of over 1,000 historical documents relating to Poplar Forest.
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The Archaeology of Chesapeake Slavery and Landscape
Our fieldwork addresses changing patterns of land use and settlement on Thomas Jefferson's, Monticello Plantation from c. 1750 to 1860, along with their ecological and social causes and consequences. Toward the end of the 18th century, spurred by shifts in the Atlantic economy, Thomas Jefferson and planters across the Chesapeake region replaced tobacco cultivation with a more diversified agricultural regime, based around wheat. Our research is revealing the enormous implications of this shift for what the landscape looked like and how enslaved African-Americans worked and lived on it. Significant questions remain about the ecological processes that were unleashed, how they were experienced by slaves and slave owners, and the importance of changing slave work routines in explaining social dynamics among enslaved and free people.
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The Berry Site, Western North Carolina
Dig at the earliest inland Spanish settlement in north America, which was burned and therefore fantastically preserved. See this article from Archaeology Magazine.
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University of Arizona Field School
The UA School of Anthropology offers a spring semester archaeological field school in problem-oriented research for undergraduate and graduate students of all skill levels. Participants will learn excavation, mapping with advanced spatial and geophysical techniques, care and analysis of artifacts, and interpretation of the archaeological record. Field trips, lectures, discussion, and report-writing augment field and laboratory experience. Note: Prof Ur went to this one, a long time ago.
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Field Schools Beyond the U.S.

UMass Amherst Field School at Akko: Archaeology, Conservation, and Heritage
The Anthropology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is offering a 6-credit field school in Akko, Israel. Students can choose to focus on archaeological excavation, field survey, geographic information systems (GIS), conservation, heritage studies, public archaeology, or underwater archaeology/science diving.
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Osteological Analysis of Migratory Paleo-populations
Cluj Napoca, Transylvania, Romania
Workshop Session 1: June 03 – June 30, 2012
Workshop Session 2: July 01 – July 28, 2012
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osea 2012 Summer 2012 Programs
- Heritage Field Study & Ethnography
- Teach English Service Learning
- Maya Language Immersion
- Intensive Spanish Immersion
- Yucatán, Mexico
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Excavations of the Baths at Roman Carsulae
Carsulae was a Roman city that developed in the late third century BCE along the Via Flaminia, approximately 100 kilometers north of Rome in modern Umbria. The major public buildings were excavated from 1950 to 1970, but the great majority of the ancient city lies undisturbed in what is now a beautiful archaeological park. The current excavation of the public baths at Carsulae began in 2004. Following the construction of a roofthat will protect the delicate architecture, we plan to dedicate the 2012 season to further exposing the central rooms of the baths and to begin the important task of conservation.
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Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project
In 2012 BVAR will be hosting its 24th summer field school. As in 2011, our field work will continue investigations at the ancient Maya sites of Cahal Pech, Baking Pot and Lower Dover. These major Belize Valley sites are located on the outskirts of the modern town of San Ignacio, capital of the Cayo District of Belize, Central America.
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Paleolithic excavations in the Swabian Jura, May 5 until October 12
Swabian Jura Long‐term excavations have produced the earliest examples of figurative art and musical instruments and contribute to the question of the origin of cultural modernity and the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe Europe. Excavations at Vogelherd and Hohle Fels are available to excavators with different amounts of field experience. Participants at Vogelherd need less experience, while for Hohle Fels we are looking for highly experienced excavators. Parallel to the fieldwork, team members participate in water‐screening, sorting, labeling of finds and data management. Excursions to the
Contact:
Nicholas Conard and Maria Malina
nicholas.conard@uni‐tuebingen.de
maria.malina@uni‐tuebingen.de

Blackfriary in Trim, County Meath, Ireland
The Irish Archaeology Field School is a university accredited archaeology and heritage management field school. 2012 will be our third season on site, and we have already been recognised in Ireland and internationally.
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ACE Foundation
The ACE Foundation helps promote cultural and international understanding through the advancement of education, serving communities in the UK and worldwide. The ACE Foundation (Association for Cultural Exchange) is a non-profit educational trust founded in 1958 by Philip Barnes. Based in Cambridge, our activities stretch across the globe but always retain a local accent.
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Prague Summer Schools 2012
The Prague's Center for Public Policy (Centrum pro verejnou politiku - CPVP) is pleased to announce the forthcoming Prague Summer Schools 2012 on the following topics:
- European Summer Institute on the Future of Europe: Lobbying in Brussels
- Summer School on Crime, Law and Psychology
- Summer School on European Union: Interests versus Culture?
- Summer School on China: A World Superpower - Myth or Reality?
- Where? Summer Schools will take place in Prague, Czech Republic
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The Balkan Heritage Field School
The Balkan Heritage Field School (BHFS, est. 2003) functions as a legal part of Balkan Heritage Foundation - Bulgarian public, non-profit, non-governmental organization. The BHFS is the biggest field school in the region. Its program offers every year between 6 and 10 educative projects (all of them accredited by New Bulgarian University) in the areas of Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Folklore, Art History, Restoration and Conservation of artifacts and monuments, Fine Arts and Theology for students, scholars and volunteers from all over the World. For the last eight years Balkan Heritage projects were attended by 550 participants from 41 countries.
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Workshop: Osteological analysis of migratory paleo-populations
Location: Cluj Napoca, Transylvania, Romania
Workshop Session 1: June 03 – June 30, 2012
Workshop Session 2: July 01 – July 28, 2012
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Off The Beaten Track: Summer School for Anthropologists
The Anthropology field school is held annually on the charming islet of Gozo, in the Maltese Archipelago. Gozo is one of the three inhabited main islands of the Maltese Archipelago (Malta, Gozo and Comino) and is right in the heart of the Mediterranean. Described as Europe’s best kept secret, Malta is surrounded by crystal clear waters, enjoys year-round sunshine and is the home of numerous cultural, artistic and natural treasures.
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The Dmanisi Field School
The Dmanisi Field School is a four week program offered annually by the by the Dmanisi Field School Network and Georgian National Museum. The Field School is open to young scientists, archaeology and anthropology students and interested persons. The school will be held at the Dmanisi Paleolithic site (village of Patara Dmanisi, 80 km from Tbilisi, Bolnisi Region, East Georgia) and students will be accommodated in the camp or village near the archaeological site.
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Archaeology in Belize, Central America
The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project announces its archaeological investigations for the summer of 2011!
http://www.bvar.org/

Field School in Obrajes, Bolivia
Have you always wanted to travel to South America, or learn to do archaeology in the field? Are you interested in living and working in a highland Quechua Indian village in Bolivia, and experiencing this fascinating indigenous culture firsthand?
Undergraduate and graduate students alike are invited to apply for the summer 2010 archaeological field school in Obrajes, Bolivia. You have the option of coming to Bolivia with me for 7 weeks for the cultural experience, to earn 6-9 credits of Anthropology, or both! Independent reading credits in other disciplines are also an option. If you participate in the program for credit, your home institution may offer scholarships or summer research grants to help offset the cost.
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San Gemini Preservation Studies Program
Dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage and offers students the opportunity to study and travel in Italy. This year we have added a program on paper restoration.
HTTP://SANGEMINISTUDIES.ORG

AFAR: Archaeology in the Marquesas Islands
Verdant forest, rugged peaks, and turqoise seas. The Marquesas are one of the best known yet least visited archipelagoes in the South Pacific. The Polynesian discovery and settlement of these stunningly beautiful islands some 1000 years ago represents one of humanity’s momentous achievements. By the time Captain Cook reached these shores, Marquesan chiefdoms were distinguished by their monumental architecture, elaborate art, and a religious system in which important ceremonies demanded human sacrifices.
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ASU Paleoanthropology Field School (South Africa)
The Institute of Human Origins in ASU's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, in conjunction with IZIKO, the South African Museum, offers a field school focused on the west coast of South Africa. In the program, students will learn about the ecology, paleoecology, and conservation of the unique habitat of this region; excavate 5.2 million year old fossils; and become familiar with the geology of the area.
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Amheida (Egypt)
NYU's spring semester abroad program, Archaeology and History in Egypt, consists of three courses plus an Independent Project module. The first third of the program is an intensive seminar entitled The Oases of Egypt, which deals with the archaeology, history, and environment of the four main Egyptian oases.
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BU's Syria Archaeological Field School
Boston University's Syria Archaeological Field School takes place each summer at the Bronze Age site of Tell es-Sweyhat in Northern Syria. The program combines a six-week excavation with coursework in Mesopotamian Archaeology and Archaeological Field Methods.
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EIU Field School at Walhain Castle (Belgium)
The Summer Archaeology Program in Belgium offers a unique opportunity, unduplicated by any other program anywhere, for EIU students (including guest students specially enrolled from other institutions) to learn about the principles and practice of archaeology as a “crossroads discipline”, bringing together the perspectives offered by the Humanities with the methods of the Sciences, by working alongside other American and European students on the excavation of a medieval castle in Belgium. Students will learn the basic methods, procedures and skills of medieval field archaeology in the course of a four-week campaign at Walhain Castle, near Louvain-la-Neuve. These involve stratigraphic excavation, field drawing (mapping and section drawing), preparation for on-site photography, artefact recording and treatment, field cataloguing and initial finds processing. Students will learn the contextual parameters of the Walhain project by situating the castle historically in the evolution of the Walloon region of Belgium from Roman through Early Modern times, and situating the research project scientifically in the developing field of medieval archaeology.
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Gabii Project (Italy)
The Gabii Project was launched in 2007 with the objective of studying and excavating the ancient Latin city of Gabii, a city-state that was both a neighbor of, and a rival to, Rome in the first millennium BC.

University of Manitoba
Univiversity of Manitoba field school at Tel es-Safi.
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Scladina Cave (Belgium)
www.viu.ca/studyabroad/anthbel.asp
Scladina Cave (Sclayn, Belgium), discovered in 1971, is located above the south bank of the Meuse River between the cities of Namur and Andenne. This Middle Palaeolithic site has been intensively investigated for over twenty years under the direction of the ASBL Archaeologie Andennaise and the Department of Prehistory at the University of Liege. This is one of the few caves in Europe which is excavated year round. The site has yielded the remains of a 7 to 8 year old Neanderthal child dated at 100,000 years ago. Preservation of organic material in this cave is exceptional and genetic researchers have been able to recover and reconstruct portions of the child's mt-DNA sequence. This is the oldest Neanderthal mt-DNA recovered to date. The Sclandina child was recently discussed in National Geographic (Oct 2008:53).

Tell Timai, Egypt
In 2010 we plan to excavate Ptolemaic temple, a cemetery and a colonnaded street at this Greco-Roman, Egyptian site. This program will occupy four consecutive six-day weeks. The participants will be put in charge of various tasks: excavation supervision, recording, registry, pottery sorting, and seriation. >From time to time they will also be called upon to assist the technical core staff in such tasks as surveying, human and faunal remains recovery, pottery cleaning and restoration, and photography detail. Website

Irish Archaeological Field School, Boyne Valley
The 2010 research programme will focus on archaeological excavations at Bective Abbey, Rath Maeve on the Hill of Tara, and Rossnaree, Newgrange, Co. Meath, Ireland. Website

Excavation of the Roman Baths at Carsulae
Excavations of the Roman Baths at the ancient city of Carsulae. The Roman city, founded along the via Flaminia in the late third century BCE, is located near the town of San Gemini. The area has been associated with healing waters since pre-Roman times. Field school includes: archaeological excavation, various methods of excavation documentation and handling and processing of artifacts. Website